Hello ,

I am a law student in Tunisia and I am thinking about applying for Melbourne JD. However , I am not sure about my social status once I graduate from Melbourne Law School. Will I be allowed , as a foreigner , to work as a lawyer in Australia?

A Melbourne JD is a 3-year program that gives you 2 years of stay-back in Australia to "look" a job which means you have a total of (3+2=5) years to look for a job. You must have a job offer by the end of those "2 years after you've finished your JD" and convert your "Post-Study Work Permit" to a "Regular Work Permit".

Also, say you already have an undergrad law degree i.e. LLB from Tunisia or EU etc., you can get credit points for that degree and finish your Australian JD in 2-2.5 years instead of 3, and you'll still get a 2 year work visa.

2018 is the right time to study in Australia because their economy is booming and there are new jobs created every day. Whereas the US & Canada are in a pretty bad state. Australia's close relationship with China means that it benefits from a lot of Chinese FDI in local and Pacific/south-east Asian infrastructure projects so Aussie law firms get frequent contracts for project finance deals. Best of luck!

[Edited by rushdeep on May 16, 2018]